Monday, May 13, 2013

Believe It Ripleys Believe It Or Not Is Fascinating

A shrunken head, 7-legged sheep, 8-feet long fish, sounds like a wild story you’d hear around a campfire doesn’t it? And while it’s all very hard to believe, in actuality, you can see all of the above and many more odd things at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!

It all starts with the building itself. As you approach Ripley’s Believe It Or Not you can’t help but notice the building looks like it’s being swallowed by one of Florida’s famous sinkholes. And that’s just the precursor to all of the weird and unusual things that live inside!

Ripley’s Odditorium showcases 16 galleries that pay tribute to the odd, bizarre and unbelievable. Once you step inside you’ll marvel at the collection of weird and unusual relics and rare treasures and discover that truth is indeed stranger than fiction with such incredible displays as a two-headed calf, an Egyptian Mummy, a 10-foot section of the Berlin Wall, a Rolls Royce made from more than one million match sticks, a 14-foot portrait of The Last Supper made entirely from dryer lint, a portrait of Beyonce made from candy, a 25-foot high mural of Jimi Hendrix made from more than 8,500 playing cards, incredible optical illusions and brain teasers and so many more unbelievable exhibits!

The Odditorium is also currently home to Ripley’s Famous Fertility Statues. These statues have been credited with more than 2,000 pregnancies while on display at Ripley’s attractions around the world! Ripley acquired the statues in 1993 form the Ivory Coast of West Africa. He placed them in the lobby at Ripley’s corporate headquarters in Orlando and within months 13 women had become pregnant. The only thing they had in common is that they had all touched the statues! Since then, women have flown to touch the statues, and see if they really help people conceive. Believe it or not! And Hurry, the Fertility Statues will be moving location out of Orlando after Memorial Day 2013.

So who is this Ripley character anyway? Ripley was an athlete and an artist who sold his first cartoon to LIFE Magazine at the age of 14. At 15, he was working at the San Francisco Bulletin before moving to the San Francisco Chronicle and eventually the New York Globe sketching sports cartoons. One day he drew up nine unusual sports events and titled it, “Champs and Chumps.” The name was eventually changed to “Believe It Or Not” and the rest is history! Once the cartoon became a hit Ripley began traveling the world, looking for bizarre and unusual things to feature, many of which now appear in his museums around the world.

For the chance to rub one of Ripley’s Famous Fertility Statues (Hurry, the statues leave after Memorial Day) or just experience the rest of The Odditorium and it’s weird and wacky items, look for discounted Ripley’s Believe It Or Not tickets right here on Orlando Fun Tickets.